THAT’S MY JOB: Astronomer Jim Sheets turns hobby into profession at observatory
Jim Sheets and Rudy the Space Dog make a daylight visit to Eagle Eye Observatory at Canyon of the Eagles Nature Park and Resort in Burnet. The building that houses the observatory’s five telescopes and computer equipment has a retractable roof and is on a hill overlooking the 940 acres of nature preserve owned by the Lower Colorado River Authority. Light pollution can only be blamed on the moon. Staff photo by Dakota Morrissiey
Self-taught astronomer Jim Sheets keeps up with new discoveries in space for his job at Eagle Eye Observatory at Canyon of the Eagles Nature Park and Resort in Burnet. Along with his canine companion, a Llewellin setter he calls Rudy the Space Dog, Sheets maintains and operates five telescopes from the observatory, a small building with a retractable roof on a hill near Lake Buchanan.
At 77, Sheets has been passionate about astronomy for at least 65 years.
“I study all the time,” he said. “I try to learn all the new technologies, learn what’s going on, what’s happening with all the theories.”
The Kansas flatlander moved to the Highland Lakes after retiring from a 30-year career in the oil and gas refinery industry. He has been the astronomer at Eagle Eye Observatory since 2011, although he is now working with a second stargazer, Phil Ostroff. Together, they offer views and news of the night skies over the Highland Lakes: Ostroff on Mondays and Tuesdays and Sheets on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights, weather permitting.
Sheets’ many passions include new findings around the Big Bang theory and the status of Pluto. Warning: Do not try to convince Sheets that Pluto is no longer a planet.
“It’s still a planet; it’s just in a new category called a dwarf planet,” he said. “About a dozen dwarf planets have been discovered at the edge of our solar system, and Pluto is the biggest, baddest one out there. I like to feel like Pluto got a promotion. Instead of being the tiniest major planet, it is the biggest, baddest dwarf planet.”
Now that his one-time hobby has become his job, The Picayune Magazine wondered if he had any other outside interests to keep him busy after work hours.
“I still ride my motorcycle,” he said. “And I have an aircraft I like to fly; I’m a licensed pilot. I like to drive my Corvette, too. I’ve got my toys. I like to do fun things.”
Astronomy still tops that list.
Read about Sheets’ job in his own words:
JIM SHEETS
Astronomer at Eagle Eye Observatory
EVERYTHING ABOUT ASTRONOMY involves everything that we are. It’s a multi-discipline phenomenon. You learn about the cosmos on a grand scale and you learn about the cosmos on a tiny scale. On the tiny scale, you have subatomic particles — everything that we are. All physical matter is made up of atoms and subatomic particles that make up the atoms. That’s all part of astronomy.
ON THE GRAND SCALE of what you can see are the planets and solar systems. It goes on and on with an expanding universe. We, as humans, are in the middle of that existence.
HUMAN BEINGS HAVE DEVELOPED technology to be able to see not only the macro but the micro as well. We are unique in our existence to comprehend both the large and the small scales of the universe.
EAGLE EYE OBSERVATORY IS SO GOOD for viewing stars because it’s away from the city lights, away from light pollution. We are an hour and a half from Austin. Light pollution deters the ability to see through the atmosphere and see the wonders of space. Although, the moon is the biggest polluter there is. The best time to view through the observatory telescopes is when the moon is below the horizon.
THE TELESCOPES GET a little sluggish in freezing temperatures because the gearing has grease. When we have subfreezing temperatures, I do indoor astronomy in a pavilion room at the resort. It’s like a mini-planetarium program.
I USE NUMEROUS APPS where I can jump in a spaceship and fly down into the Milky Way, down to somewhere familiar, the planet Earth, to the U.S., to the Canyon of the Eagles. I use these apps to describe the universe and to interact with our guests. We always encourage questions. I love the Q&A part of our program.
I STUDY ALL THE TIME. I try to learn all the new technologies, learn what’s going on, learn what’s happening, like all the different theories. We’ve got a theory called the Big Bang theory that says the universe began 13.77 billion years (ago). The new James Webb telescope was put up in space two years ago and is finding mature galaxies so far away, they had to have evolved before the Big Bang. Maybe our universe is much much older than that. Maybe the Big Bang isn’t real.
MY FAVORITE THING IN THE SKY is all of the above. I can’t make a decision like that. It’s all my favorites.